This section is intended to provide a background or context to the inventions disclosed below.
The description herein may include concepts that could be pursued, but are not necessarily ones that have been previously conceived, implemented or described. Therefore, unless otherwise explicitly indicated herein, what is described in this section is not prior art to the description in this application and is not admitted to be prior art by inclusion in this section.
Virtual Reality may be defined as a computer-generated simulation of a three-dimensional image or environment that can be interacted with in a seemingly real or physical way by a user using special electronic equipment, such as goggles, headphones and gloves fitted with sensory cue transducers.
Augmented reality may be defined as a live, direct or indirect, view of a physical, real-world environment whose elements are augmented by computer-generated sensory input such as sound, video, graphics or GPS data.
Electromyography (EMG) is the recording of electrical activity in the muscles, typically through a surface transducer in communication with the skin of a user. An evoked potential or evoked response is an electrical potential obtained from the nervous system following a stimulus. Spontaneous potentials may be detected by electroencephalography (EEG), electromyography (EMG), or other electrophysiological recording methods. An event-related potential (ERP) is the measured brain response that is the direct result of a specific sensory, cognitive, or motor event.
Electroencephalography (EEG) is the recording of electrical activity along the scalp. Electrocardiogram (EKG) is the recording of electrical and muscle activity of the heart. Electromyography (EMG) is the recording of electrical activity in the muscles, typically through a surface transducer in communication with the skin of a user. An evoked potential or evoked response is an electrical potential obtained from the nervous system following a stimulus. Spontaneous potentials as detected by electroencephalography (EEG), electromyography (EMG), or other electrophysiological recording methods. An event-related potential (ERP) is the measured brain response that is the direct result of a specific sensory, cognitive, or motor event.
The use of electrical stimulation for pain relief and muscular training is known, for example, as transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) and can be used to stimulate nerve endings to block pain. Neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) has been used for causing involuntary contractions to build and tone muscles for sports, fitness and rehabilitation.
In the human body, somatic and kinesthetic sensations relate to force and touch. Somatic sensations, for example, are perceived cutaneous (at the skin) and subcutaneous (below the skin). Kinesthetic sensations are more related to mechanical body parts, such as joints and muscles. In general, these sensations can be called haptic feedback which can be used to determine things like geometry, roughness, slipperiness, temperature, weight and inertia (force).